Birthday Balloons
by SecretFruits
Summary: Angelina is having a strange day. There are some strange birthday balloons around the Common Room. Fred, George, Angelina, and Alicia friendship.


Written for the QLFC

October: Minerva McGonagall, Filius Flitwick, Molly Weasley, Angelina Johnson, Armando Dippet. Team: Kestrels

Prompts:

(dialogue) "If I hear anyone say 'Happy Birthday,' one more time..."

(dialogue) "If you are going to breathe down my neck, at least have a mint."

(word) refreshed

Word Count: 1087

* * *

Angelina brushed her teeth, feeling refreshed as the cool water splashed her face. She had hoped to head to bed early the night before, but Snape's moonstone essay had proven even more difficult than she and Alicia had anticipated. It had been almost one in the morning when she'd finally climbed into bed. Getting out again had been a struggle.

Still. The Quidditch Pitch called, and she was ready. Let nobody say that Angelina Johnson would be the captain to tarnish Oliver Wood's legacy.

She washed her face, thinking about what a great captain Oliver had been. Sure, they'd ragged on him for his pep talks and bloody drill routines, but…

But Merlin's beard if she was half the captain he was. Or half as good on a broom, or at _anything,_ really.

"Angelina!"

Angelina sighed, stepping out of the loo. "Coming, Fred!" At least he was up in time for morning drills. Distracted, Angelina barely paid attention as she walked, causing her to stub her toe as she headed outside. " _Bloody..._ what _is_ that thing?!"

A huge, scarlet, metallic balloon stood outside the door, then exploded. Angelina screamed and jumped backwards, hitting the wall and landing on her backside with a thump. But the balloon had suddenly softened, then crumpled, and hundreds of tiny multicolored balloons burst into the air.

They had writing on them. She crawled towards them and peered, but the tiny black lettering was impossible to make out.

And then the balloons began to grow. Suddenly they were encircling Angelina, and as she read them, she grew increasingly bewildered.

 _Happy Birthday Angelina?_

It wasn't her birthday! Was it some sort of prank? Fred and George, probably? Well, so long as they didn't delay practice for too long…

Torn between amusement, annoyance, and confusion, she headed down the stairs, shoving aside a particularly annoying red balloon with extra vehemence. Smug grins on their faces, they blocked her path with crossed arms.

"Morning, Weasleys." She smiled at them, deciding that the balloons were funny, _whatever_ that had been. "Hope you're ready for practice."

Neither of them said a word. Fred moved closer to her, so close that their noses were centimeters apart, and grinned.

Angelina scowled. "If you are going to breathe down my neck, at least have a mint."

Fred gave her shoulder a punch. "Come now, Your Captainship. We were merely trying to wish you a happy birthday!"

Confused, she pushed her way forward. "It's not my birthday, Fred! Come on. We have a game to play!"

* * *

The team stopped in the Great Hall after practice, the desire for second breakfast rumbling in their stomachs. Practice had been...weird, to say the least. Harry had enthusiastically wished her happy birthday, promising to try extra hard with Umbridge. Alicia and Katie had sung while circling around the pitch, holding a banner between them.

Whatever the joke was, it seemed only Angelina wasn't in on it. Little Colin Creevey offered her a Captain Birthday Portrait as she reached for her eggs and pumpkin juice. Ginny Weasley asked her if she had liked the banner, explaining that she and Dean had been major contributors. Professor McGonagall had given her a rare smile as she passed the table. Even the Slytherins seemed less grumpy than usual.

It was a beautiful October Saturday, chilly enough to feel comfortable in a light sweater but not too cold to sit by the lake. But Angelina couldn't afford to waste too much time; practice had already cut into her demanding NEWT schedule. With a sigh, she wolfed down her food and left for the Common Room.

Inside, she found chaos. The tiny balloons had multiplied a hundred fold, plastered against the ceiling. A levitating confetti fountain hung in the center of the room, and tiny pictures of Angelina making different maneuvers with the Quaffle littered the floor. Strangest of all, the face of the lion on the far wall had been replaced with a cutout of her face. But it wasn't just any picture of her - she had a look of intense concentration which made her seem absolutely ridiculous.

Then from seemingly nowhere, Fred and George appeared in front of her. Now seriously annoyed, she gave them her most irate glare. "As I told you this morning, if you're going to stand that close to me -"

"Have a mint." As always, Fred started.

"We know, O Captain."

"But I daresay."

"We don't smell bad."

"We smell refreshed."

"Cinnamon eucalyptus?"

Alicia and Katie, who Angelina hadn't even realized had followed her, giggled.

* * *

The rest of the day carried on in mostly the same manner. After lunch she dodged to the library under the pretense of heading to the Prefect's loo, but before dinner Katie and Alicia came to retrieve her.

"Angelina! O Captain!" Ever bubbly, Katie slipped her arm in Angelina's.

Madam Pince fixed them both with a dirty look.

Angelina fixed Katie with one even dirtier. "If I hear anyone say 'Happy Birthday,' one more time..."

But her friends only laughed. "Come to the Common Room. I think you'll like it."

The walk there was thankfully birthday-free. Sir Cadogan tipped his hat to the trio, screaming about many happy returns, and somehow got his head stuck in the mud by his pony, but Angelina was ready to simply attribute that to Sir Cadogan being insane.

To her disappointment, the Common Room decorations hadn't changed at all. If anything, the mass of balloons had grown still further. As she entered, Fred cracked open a butterbeer.

"To the birthday girl! The fearsome." He paused for dramatic affect, clinking bottles with Lee Jordan. "The beautiful." Another pause, during which George heaved him onto a table. "The brilliant." The younger students began to tap their fingers in a drumroll. "The one and only Angelina Johnson!"

The room erupted in cheers. Confused beyond measure, Angelina sat down. Grinning from ear to ear, Alicia handed her a drink. But it wasn't anything she had drunk before - it was a tiny bottle of some smoky liquid that had an odd familiarity to it.

Too resigned to ask questions, Angelina took a swig. It was pleasantly warm, and the warmth seemed to fill her insides, starting with her stomach, up her neck, to her head, where memories began to return…

" _Hey Angelina! Drink this before going to bed! We swear, it wears off in 24 hours, and we have an antidote…"_

They had temporarily wiped her memory.

It was...crazy. Stupid. Brilliant.

The best way to plan any party.


End file.
